The Ann Arbor Friends Meeting recognizes the complex
international dynamics that feed the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
creating fear on both sides and putting both Palestinians and Israelis at risk.
We are concerned about the safety and well-being of all affected by this conflict. We wish
to ally ourselves with those in Israel and Palestine working to bring peace.

We believe that one key step towards stability and
safety for both Israelis and Palestinians depends on a just agreement regarding
the Palestinian lands that Israel has occupied, illegally, according to
international law, since 1967. Successive U.S. governments have generously
supported Israeli military occupation of these lands, and have turned a blind
eye to illegal tax exemptions for U.S. charitable organizations that support
Israeli settlements.

We urge our government to
exhibit equal concern for the well-being of both
Palestinian and Israeli people by:

ŠSupporting a United Nations
resolution recognizing a Palestinian state

ŠWithholding U.S. tax dollars that
support the Israeli military

ŠEnforcing U.S. tax law regarding charitable organizations that
support Israeli settlements

We also urge Friends
worldwide to unite with Britain Yearly Meeting in its call to boycott products
made in Israeli settlements, “not as punishment or revenge, but as an external
pressure to achieve change.”

With Britain Yearly Meeting,
Ann Arbor Friends Meeting considers that “we should now act publicly, and,
well-informed, be able to explain our action to others,” in order to “give hope
to Palestinians and support to those in Israel who are working for peace.” We
agree with Britain Yearly Meeting that “in the face of the armed oppression of
poor people and the increasing encroachment of the illegal settlements in the
West Bank, we cannot do nothing.” We too are clear
that it would be wrong to support the Israeli settlements by purchasing their
goods.